


Highway Don't Care

by Laces



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Breaking Up & Making Up, Car Accidents, Hurt Sam Winchester, M/M, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 02:02:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17235242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laces/pseuds/Laces
Summary: “Sam? Sam, what’s wrong? Sam, are you okay?”“Crashed,” Sam managed to say after a moment.“What? Where? Where are you, Sam?”“D-don’t know.”It was then that he heard what appeared to be a whisper:You’re going to die here.





	Highway Don't Care

**Author's Note:**

> "The highway don't care if you're coming home but I do." - Tim McGraw

"Put the warding back onto my ribs, _now_." 

Sam had barged straight into Dean’s room when he hadn’t found Castiel anywhere else in the Bunker, shoving the door open with no regard to what could potentially be going on behind closed doors. It was safe, however, as the two were just laying on top of the bed, watching a movie on Dean’s television. But Sam’s loud interruption had them both startled, staring up at him with wide eyes. Dean seemed to recover first and swung his legs over the side of the bed. 

“Dude, what is your problem?” He asked his brother incredulously. 

“I need the warding on my ribs back. The angel warding. Castiel, please, can you do that for me?” Sam answered, turning his attention straight back to the angel he had sought out. 

“I… I can, yes. But why is that necessary? You aren’t in any danger, Sam,” Cas answered, getting to his feet. 

“Don’t ask questions, just do it,” Sam barked, a little too rough for Dean’s liking. His brother stood, grabbing his arm and jerking him a bit. 

“Sam, I don’t know what your problem is but you need to calm the hell down,” he ordered. It was only now that he noticed his baby brother was trembling and he frowned, looking down at his brother’s arm before releasing him. “Sam, what is wrong?” 

It took the younger Winchester a moment to answer, his jaw locked tight as he refrained eye contact. 

“I need to leave and I don’t want him to follow me,” he finally admitted, almost glancing over his shoulder. “Please, Castiel.” 

Castiel put the pieces together far quicker than Dean did and his eyes grew wide before he nodded frantically. He glanced into the hallway, frowning before stepping forward to press his hand to the man’s torso. 

“You remember that this is going to hurt, yes?” Castiel warned and as Sam nodded, Dean finally put the pieces together. His eyes widened briefly before narrowing into slits. 

“What did he do?” Dean demanded. Sam didn’t answer, instead crying out and doubling over at the searing pain. Cas grimaced and rubbed Sam’s shoulder, unable to help him through the pain. “What did that fucker do to you, Sammy?” Dean repeated, his voice harsher as he grew impatient with his baby brother. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered, finally standing back up straight. 

“You are not leaving me because of that asshole. I’ll kill him. Where is he?” Dean growled, stomping past Sam and into the hallway. He was ultimately followed and Sam grabbed him, pushing him against the wall with only the amount of force necessary to stop his anger-filled big brother. 

“I’ll be back. I need some space and he doesn’t know how to give me that. I’m not giving him a choice because now he can’t follow me. But Dean, look at me. I. Will. Be. Back.” He promised his brother. “Leave him alone. He’ll probably stay in my bedroom once he realizes he can’t find me. I’ll call you, okay?” Without giving him a chance to answer, Sam nodded to Castiel, who held onto Dean and ushered him back to the bedroom as Sam walked off to the garage. 

\-- 

He made the stupid mistake of taking off without turning his phone off first and it chimed and vibrated in his pocket endlessly. The road was quiet that night and for the most part, it was just Sam and the stars. He’d start to relax and then his phone would chime and raise his blood pressure once more. It was a repeating cycle until he finally slid his phone out of his pocket to look. 

_Did you /leave/? L_

_I thought you went to go rant to Dean about your asshole boyfriend, I didn’t think you were leaving. L_

_I thought we were supposed to talk things out? I thought you said that was how we were going to do this. L_

_I said I was sorry. I meant it. L_

_I /am/ sorry, Sam. L_

_I don’t want to lose you. L_

_If you don’t answer me in the next two minutes, I’m coming looking for you. L_

_Fine. Be that way. L_

_What did you do? Why can’t I find you? L_

_You didn’t. L_

_Samuel, baby, please. L_

_You shouldn’t be driving while you’re this upset. L_

_I can’t believe you asked Castiel to hide you from me. I can’t believe he did it. L_

_We’ve had fights 10x worse than that one and now you’re just gone? L_

_Samuel, please. L_

It took Sam a few different tries in order to read all of the messages from his partner while keeping safe on the road. As he realized how distressed Lucifer was growing, he figured he needed to at least respond to him. They didn’t have to discuss it, he didn’t have to promise to come home, he just needed to assure him that this wasn't necessarily the end. 

**Please stop texting me. SW**

**I just need some space. I need to breathe. Leave me alone. SW**

Sam shakily typed out the two messages, finding it harder and harder to breathe as he did. The device almost immediately chimed in response and he had to wait a moment, steering the vehicle around a particularly tight curve. 

_I love you, Samuel. We can work this out. L_

**Space, Lucifer. SW**

_You are my world and you know it. I need you. L_

**I’m not leaving you. I need space. Then we can talk. SW**

Hard to breathe was an understatement at this point as tears slid down his cheeks, his ribcage closing impossibly tight around his lungs. He had been so certain when he left that he didn’t want to see the goddamn angel again for a very long time. But Lucifer’s desperation was ripping at his resolve and when his phone chimed again, he threw it into the passenger seat and pressed the acceleration. The engine grew louder, as if deciding whether it was worth it to put in the work Sam was asking of it, before complying and zooming forward. 

**_*Ding!*_ **

**_*Ding!*_ **

**_*Ding!*_**

“Shut up,” Sam muttered quietly, his hands gripping tightly to the steering wheel. “Shut up… Shut up, dammit!” He yelled, letting go with one hand just to slam it down on the wheel. It was that moment that headlights came into view coming around the bend. Sam had swerved towards the oncoming car during his tantrum and quickly tried to swerve the car in the opposite direction. He overcorrected though and the momentum behind the car meant that the guardrail did nothing to stop him. The car slammed straight through, flipping down the shallow embankment before being stopped by a tree trunk. 

When Sam’s eyes fluttered open, he wasn’t exactly sure what had happened yet. It took a good thirty seconds before the pain set in. His legs were trapped, metal digging deep into the tissue of his legs, especially the left. It appeared as if the air-bag had forced him to stay in the exact spot that the metal roof caved in, slamming into his head. It must’ve been on the first flip though, changing shape when the side of the car slammed to the ground instead, as the offending metal wasn’t lodged into his head like it probably should’ve been. As a result, his vision was blurry and he wasn’t sure if that was because of the pain, the inevitable concussion, or the blood that had traveled down his forehead and into his eyes. Groaning loudly, he was fighting to keep his eyes open, the warmth of sleep calling to him. 

**_*Ding!*_**

Sam’s eyes opened and he tried to look for the device without moving too much. He finally caught sight of a blinking blue light in the passenger’s side floorboard. Working up the strength, he slowly began to lean over to grab it and screamed loudly as the metal in his legs dug deeper. Freezing in place, tears poured down his cheeks still as he forced himself to take a few deep breaths. It was then that he heard what appeared to be a whisper: _You’re going to die here._ Sam knew it was his own brain telling him this and while he’d like to disagree, it appeared as if it were true. That had been the first car he’d seen in half an hour and it had obviously continued after Sam crashed. There would be no police, no ambulance, no angels, and no Dean. 

This realization that he was going to die in this goddamn car only made him more determined to get his phone. Working up the nerve first, he finally began to lean over slowly, trying to get to his phone. Metal shards ripped his flesh even more as he did and he screamed loudly, continuing to release the ungodly noises until his hand finally wrapped around the cell phone. He sobbed loudly then, straightening up despite having already done the damage – more blood loss, more ripped muscle… He was breathing hard at this point, heaving with every rise and fall of his chest. There were many unopened messages but Sam could only focus on the last one: 

_I may not be able to find you but we’re still bonded, Sam. I can feel you. What just happened? What’s wrong? What is going on, Sam? L_

Shaky fingers moved to type a message out before he grew smarter. His thumb found the small button with the image of a green phone on it and he immediately heard ringing. It stopped soon though and the sound of a very welcomed voice filled the car. 

“Sam, fuck, you had me so worried,” Lucifer admitted openly as he answered the call. It must’ve just been his own emotions leading him to believe that something else was wrong, something deeper than the argument. He had even gone to get Dean and Castiel, telling them both that he believed Sam to be in danger. Now that Sam had called, the couple just looked at him with a glare, clearly unamused. That is, until the three of them realized the silence on the other end of the line had dragged on longer than it should’ve. “Sam? Baby?” Lucifer asked. There was another bout of silence before a groan broke through that had all three of them suddenly on alert. “Sam? Sam, what’s wrong? Sam, are you okay?” 

“Crashed,” Sam managed to say after a moment. 

“What? Where? Where are you, Sam?” 

“D-don’t know.” 

“Goddamn it, Cas!” Lucifer shouted, shoving his little brother. Dean was too distraught to defend his boyfriend or even stop the archangel. Honestly, he knew where the feeling was coming from. If Castiel hadn’t put the sigil back on Sam’s ribs… 

“Sammy, come on, you gotta work with us. Think, Sammy, think. What’s the last sign you remember seeing?” Dean pleaded. There was another groan before Sam answered. 

“Tired, Dee. Need sleep,” he mumbled and both Dean and Lucifer shouted: “NO!” 

“Baby, keep your eyes open. You have to, keep them open for us,” he murmured, watching as Dean grabbed the keys to the Impala and fought with Castiel. Before Lucifer realized what was happening, Castiel was gone and Dean grabbed Lucifer’s arm, dragging him to the garage with the phone. 

“We’re going to find you, Sammy. Which means you gotta stay alive for us because if I get to you and you’re dead, I’m going to kick your ass. I will make my way upstairs and be the living haunting the dead,” Dean growled. There was a quiet sound that sounded as if Sam had maybe tried to laugh but it was soon followed by coughing. 

“Love you, Dean,” Sam whispered. 

“Don’t you say that. Don’t you do that to me!” 

“Sam, you’re not going to die. We’re going to get to you and save you, I promise,” Lucifer murmured into the phone, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. 

They weren’t understanding him, Sam thought. He had accepted it. He hadn’t called for help, he had called to say goodbye. There was no way they could get to him in time – he had been on the road for at least an hour and there was no way he’d last that long, and that was if they chose the exact route that he had. 

“Lu, I love you,” he mumbled, longer waiting time in between breaths – it was getting too difficult this time. 

“I love you too, Samuel. I love you too. But you can tell me that later, okay?” 

“No... Tired.” 

“Dammit, Sammy, come on, you have to remember something!” Dean shouted, slamming a hand down on the steering wheel. 

“Tired,” Sam whispered one last time, his eyes closing heavily. He had tried to tell them. They knew he loved them, that was what was important. He could faintly hear the two still shouting at him, but his hand stopped holding the phone, making it fall to his lap. It was dark and silent for a few moments before a glimpse of a bright green road sign flashed in his memory: _Exit 302._ The words swam in his head for a moment, not understanding how to get to his mouth before he finally croaked out, “Th-three-oh-two.” 

“What did you say, Sammy?” Dean asked frantically when they heard him speak again after a long silence. 

“302. I’m going to look,” Lucifer filled in quickly, disappearing with a flutter of wings, leaving the phone in the Impala with Dean. 

Sam didn’t hear their words as the pain left him and he began to feel as if he were floating. When there was a flash of light, he almost believed it to be the famous, ‘follow the light.’ But there was no following it for it didn’t last. 

“Sam, baby, I’m here,” a soft voice whispered, grasping his cheeks. The hands were cold and Sam’s eyes fluttered open to see icy blue ones staring right back at him. “I’ve got you, Sam. You’re okay,” Lucifer whispered. “You can close your eyes now. I’m here, you’re going to be okay. You did good… You did good, baby.” After a moment, Sam could feel the cool breeze of the outside air blowing on his skin, no longer shielded by the car. There was no pain now, none at all, yet he was still too exhausted to open his eyes again. It didn’t matter though. Not when large wings encased him, shielding him from the outside world, and whispering, “I love you, Samuel.” 

And just like that, he was home.


End file.
